by M. G. Kains
Norton Creek Press, ISBN 0972177094. 172 pages.
Available in paperback and Kindle formats.

Best known for his classic handbook, "Five Acres and Independence," M. G. Kains contributed a second gem to back-to-the-land literature: his true-life adventures in "We Wanted a Farm." Kains shows how he and his family moved from New York City apartments to a full-fledged farm in easy stages: first to a rented suburban house where they grew a large vegetable garden, then in a purchased suburban house where they concentrated on fruits and berries, and finally on a full-blown farm where they went into fruits and berries in a big way. Kains’ “Don’t quit your day job” approach allowed them to gain experience without betting the farm: not until they were ready. First published in 1941, Norton Creek Press is proud to bring this charming book back into print.

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by Edmund Morris. “Revived Edition” Edited by Robert Plamondon
Norton Creek Press, ISBN 0972177086. 176 pages.
Available in paperback and Kindle formats.

Ten years after Henry David Thoreau learned how to be a poor farmer, Edmund Morris learned how to be a good one.

Ten Acres Enough is the personal story of how Morris quit the publishing business and achieved happiness and prosperity by farming ten acres of fruits and berries. Rather than glorifying poverty and isolation, Ten Acres Enough shows farming as the path to financial security, while still providing all the benefits of country life—provided that the farmer understands that the key lies in producing crops of the highest possible quality, while living within striking distance of a major market.

Ten Acres Enough has left its mark on generations of back-to-the-land farmers. Its influence on both the title and the contents of M. G. Kains' classic Five Acres and Independence (1935) is obvious. And it is benefiting readers today, whether as a piece of Americana or as a source of small-farm ideas and inspiration.

Though 150 years old, Ten Acres Enough remains a fascinating book. However, the passage of time is making the original edition increasingly inaccessible due to its archaic vocabulary and style. This "Revived Edition" has been copy-edited to restore its clarity.

This book is Volume 1 of Norton Creek Press' Back-to-the-Land Adventure series.

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by Margaret F. Leatherbarrow
Norton Creek Press, ISBN 0972177051. 218 pages.
Available in paperback and Kindle formats.

As World War II was ending, Alfred Leatherbarrow, a wounded Canadian veteran, and his nurse, Margaret, fell in love. They married, bought their dream farm—and discovered that their crops would not grow. The farm’s soil had been exhausted through years of destructive tillage practices.

Faced with certain defeat, they used innovative farming techniques—including a prototype forage harvester to gather grass for silage—to restore the fertility of their farm.

This early experiment in sustainable agriculture not only saved the farm in a rags-to-riches turnaround, but showed other farmers in their region how to pull out of the death spiral of decreasing fertility, yields, and income.

Gold in the Grass is a love story, a back-to-the-land adventure, and an inspirational example of how conservation tillage can restore the fertility of a used-up farm. This is a great book, and has spent far too many of its sixty years out of print.

Gold in the Grass is Volume 3 of Norton Creek Press' Back-to-the-Land Adventure series. It's an example of the Norton Creek Press motto: “Most of the best books are out of print and forgotten, but we can fix that!"

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